The Authoritarian Personality | AQA A-Level Psychology Revision
Updated: Sep 9
For 7182 specification, first teach in September 2025
AQA A-Level Psychology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 35 minutes
These Authoritarian Personality A-Level Psychology revision notes examine a dispositional explanation for obedience. The explanation proposes that some people possess a collection of personality traits that makes them particularly likely to obey those they perceive as having higher status. You will explore how an authoritarian personality may develop, how it can be measured using the F-scale and why the explanation has been criticised. Comparing it with environmental influences on obedience will help you construct balanced and focused evaluation.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define the Authoritarian Personality.
Explain how an authoritarian personality may develop.
Explain how authoritarian submission and authoritarian aggression relate to obedience.
Describe the purpose of the F-scale.
Distinguish dispositional explanations from situational explanations.
Apply and evaluate the Authoritarian Personality explanation.
Revision Notes đź“š
The Authoritarian Personality A-Level Psychology revision overview
The Authoritarian Personality is a dispositional explanation for obedience.
A dispositional explanation focuses on characteristics within the individual. It proposes that some people are more likely to obey because of their personality, rather than only because of the situation in which they find themselves.
The authoritarian personality involves a collection of related traits, including:
Submission towards people perceived to have higher status.
Respect for authority and established social hierarchies.
Aggression or hostility towards people perceived to have lower status.
Conventional attitudes.
Rigid or dogmatic thinking.
A tendency to place blame on weaker groups.
These characteristics may make a person particularly willing to follow orders from a recognised authority.
A dispositional explanation of obedience
A disposition is a relatively enduring characteristic of an individual.
The Authoritarian Personality explanation suggests that obedience is partly caused by the kind of person someone is. An individual with authoritarian traits may:
Respect people in positions of power.
Accept clear differences in status.
Believe that authorities should be obeyed.
Expect people of lower status to follow instructions.
Prefer established rules and conventional values.
Respond negatively towards people who challenge authority.
This differs from explanations that focus on the immediate situation.
For example:
A situational explanation might argue that a person obeys because the authority is nearby and wearing a uniform.
A dispositional explanation might argue that the person obeys because their personality makes them strongly respectful of authority.
How the Authoritarian Personality may develop
The Authoritarian Personality explanation links authoritarian traits to strict or rigid parenting.
A child raised in a highly controlling environment may experience:
Strong expectations of obedience.
Strict rules.
Limited tolerance of disagreement.
Clear divisions between those who command and those who obey.
The child may learn to accept authority without question. As an adult, they may reproduce this hierarchical pattern by submitting to people above them while behaving harshly towards people they regard as lower in status.
The proposed process can be summarised as:
The child experiences strict and rigid parenting.
Obedience and conformity to rules are strongly emphasised.
The child develops respect for powerful authority figures.
The individual becomes submissive towards those of higher status.
They may become hostile towards those perceived as weaker or lower in status.
Obedience to authority becomes more likely.
This explanation does not claim that everyone raised with strict rules will develop an authoritarian personality. It proposes a possible relationship between upbringing, personality and obedience.
Authoritarian submission
Authoritarian submission is a tendency to be obedient and submissive towards people perceived to have legitimate authority or higher status.
A person showing authoritarian submission may:
Accept orders with little questioning.
Believe that authorities deserve respect.
Regard obedience as an important social duty.
Defer to people who occupy senior positions.
View established hierarchies as necessary and appropriate.
Application example
A junior employee follows a senior director’s instruction without questioning whether it is reasonable. The employee explains that senior leaders should always be obeyed because they occupy positions of authority.
This may demonstrate authoritarian submission because the employee shows strong obedience towards someone perceived to have higher status.
The same behaviour could also involve recognition of legitimate authority. In an application question, use the evidence provided to decide whether the focus is on the individual’s personality or the authority’s position.
Authoritarian aggression
Authoritarian aggression is a tendency to behave harshly or show hostility towards people perceived to have lower status or towards those who challenge conventional rules.
The authoritarian person may:
Expect those below them to obey.
Support strict punishment for people who break rules.
Show hostility towards groups regarded as different or weaker.
Direct frustration towards a less powerful target.
Strongly defend conventional social arrangements.
This can create a pattern in which the individual is submissive towards powerful authorities but controlling towards less powerful people.
Direction of behaviour | Typical authoritarian response |
Towards higher-status people | Submission, obedience and respect |
Towards lower-status people | Aggression, control or hostility |
Towards established rules | Strong support and conventionalism |
Towards challenges to authority | Rejection or punishment |
Scapegoating
Scapegoating occurs when hostility or blame is directed towards a person or group that is less powerful.
Within the Authoritarian Personality explanation, an individual may be unable or unwilling to challenge powerful authority figures. Aggression may instead be directed towards someone perceived as safer or weaker.
For example, a supervisor may obey every instruction from senior management but respond aggressively towards junior staff when difficulties occur.
The behaviour shows the combination of:
Submission towards higher status.
Aggression towards lower status.
Conventionalism and dogmatism
An authoritarian personality may also involve conventionalism, meaning strong support for traditional or established values.
The individual may believe that:
Existing rules should be preserved.
Social roles should be clearly defined.
People should behave in approved ways.
Challenges to accepted values are threatening.
Dogmatism refers to rigid beliefs and an unwillingness to consider alternative viewpoints.
These characteristics may contribute to obedience because the person values order, rules and established authority. However, describing conventional attitudes alone is not enough in an examination. You must explicitly explain how the trait could make obedience more likely.
Measuring authoritarianism with the F-scale
The F-scale is a questionnaire used to measure authoritarian tendencies. The letter “F” refers to fascism.
A person responds to statements designed to assess authoritarian attitudes and characteristics. Their responses are combined to produce a score.
A high score indicates stronger authoritarian tendencies.
A low score indicates weaker authoritarian tendencies.
The Authoritarian Personality explanation predicts that people who obtain higher F-scale scores should generally show greater obedience to authority.
The relationship can be summarised as:
Higher F-scale score → stronger authoritarian traits → greater submission to authority → greater likelihood of obedience
The F-scale measures authoritarian attitudes. It does not directly measure every act of obedience that the person will perform.
Applying the F-scale
Imagine that two employees complete the F-scale:
Employee A receives a high score and believes senior leaders should rarely be questioned.
Employee B receives a low score and believes instructions should be judged independently.
The Authoritarian Personality explanation would predict that Employee A is more likely to obey a senior authority.
However, this is a prediction rather than a certainty. Employee A may still resist in some situations, while Employee B may obey because of powerful situational pressure.
Distinguishing dispositional and situational explanations
The key difference concerns where the explanation locates the cause of obedience.
Dispositional explanation | Situational explanation |
Focuses on characteristics within the person | Focuses on features of the immediate environment |
Suggests that personality affects obedience | Suggests that circumstances affect obedience |
Includes the Authoritarian Personality | Includes proximity, location and uniform |
May predict some consistency across situations | Predicts that behaviour may change as the situation changes |
Asks, “What kind of person is likely to obey?” | Asks, “What conditions make obedience likely?” |
A situational explanation is developed through Milgram’s variations of proximity and location.
Applying the distinction
Consider two explanations for why a security employee follows an instruction:
“The employee obeys because the supervisor is standing beside them and wearing an official uniform.”
This is a situational explanation because it focuses on proximity and uniform.
“The employee obeys because they strongly respect hierarchy and believe that people should never question senior authority.”
This is a dispositional explanation because it focuses on the employee’s authoritarian traits.
A scenario can contain both dispositional and situational influences. In that case, explain each separately rather than blending them into one explanation.
Comparing the Authoritarian Personality with the agentic state
The Authoritarian Personality and the agentic state can both explain obedience, but they focus on different processes.
Authoritarian Personality | Agentic state |
A dispositional explanation | A psychological state produced within a social situation |
Focuses on enduring personality traits | Focuses on how responsibility is understood |
The person is strongly submissive towards authority | The person sees themselves as acting for the authority |
May make some people more likely to obey across situations | May occur when an individual recognises legitimate authority |
Associated with a high F-scale score | Associated with reduced personal responsibility |
A person with an authoritarian personality may be particularly willing to enter an agentic state, but the two terms are not interchangeable.
Evaluating the Authoritarian Personality explanation
It produces a measurable prediction
A strength of the explanation is that authoritarianism can be measured using the F-scale.
The explanation makes a clear prediction:
People with higher F-scale scores should be more likely to obey authority than people with lower scores.
This makes it possible to investigate the relationship between authoritarian traits and obedience.
However, finding a relationship would not necessarily show that authoritarian personality traits directly cause obedience.
Correlation does not establish causation
Research may identify an association between high F-scale scores and obedience, but this does not prove that authoritarianism causes obedience.
Another variable could influence both. For example, differences in education or social experience might affect both a person’s attitudes and their willingness to obey.
The direction of the relationship may also be uncertain. A high authoritarianism score and high obedience may occur together without one directly causing the other.
This is known as the problem of correlation and causation, which is developed further in interpreting relationships between co-variables.
It cannot easily explain obedience across an entire society
A limitation is that a personality explanation may struggle to account for obedience involving large numbers of people.
It may be unlikely that nearly everyone within an obedient society possesses the same personality type. Widespread obedience may be better explained through shared situational and social factors, such as:
Powerful institutions.
Recognised hierarchies.
Legitimate authority.
Social pressure.
The consequences of resistance.
The Authoritarian Personality may explain why some individuals are more obedient than others, but it may not provide a complete explanation of large-scale obedience.
Situational factors can provide a stronger explanation
Milgram’s variations showed that obedience changed when aspects of the situation changed.
For example, obedience was affected by:
The proximity of the authority.
The proximity of the victim.
The location of the study.
If the same person becomes more or less obedient when the circumstances change, this suggests that personality cannot be the only influence.
A balanced conclusion is that obedience may result from an interaction between:
Dispositional characteristics.
The authority’s status.
The setting.
Proximity.
Social support.
Political bias
A criticism of the Authoritarian Personality explanation is that it has a right-wing bias.
The explanation places considerable emphasis on right-wing authoritarianism and may overlook obedience, extremism or rigid thinking associated with other political positions.
This limits the explanation because authoritarian behaviour cannot necessarily be reduced to one side of the political spectrum.
To develop this criticism, explain the consequence:
If authoritarian behaviour can occur across different political positions, a measure focused mainly on right-wing attitudes may provide an incomplete explanation of obedience.
The explanation can become too broad
The Authoritarian Personality consists of several connected characteristics, including submission, aggression, conventionalism and dogmatism.
A broad collection of traits may make it difficult to determine exactly which characteristic explains obedience.
For example, a person may score highly because they hold conventional attitudes but may not be especially submissive towards authority.
This means that a high overall score should not automatically be treated as proof that a person will obey in every situation.
Measurement criticisms must be linked to the explanation
A criticism of the F-scale is only useful when you explain how it affects the Authoritarian Personality explanation.
A weak point would be:
The questionnaire is invalid.
A developed point would be:
If the F-scale does not measure authoritarianism accurately, an apparent relationship between its scores and obedience would provide weak support for the claim that authoritarian personality traits cause obedience.
The link back to the explanation is essential.
Applying the explanation in an examination
A strong application answer should follow four stages:
Identify a relevant personality characteristic.
Select evidence from the scenario.
Explain how it demonstrates authoritarianism.
Connect the characteristic to obedience.
Weak application
Ben has an authoritarian personality because he obeys.
This is circular. It uses obedience to prove the explanation without identifying a relevant personality trait.
Stronger application
Ben shows authoritarian submission because he believes senior managers should be obeyed without question. His strong respect for higher-status authority makes him more likely to follow the director’s instruction.
For authoritarian aggression:
Ben expects junior employees to follow rules without question and supports harsh punishment when they refuse. This demonstrates authoritarian aggression towards people of lower status.
Constructing an extended evaluation
For an extended response, organise the answer around the explanation rather than listing unrelated studies or criticisms.
A useful structure is:
Explain why the Authoritarian Personality is dispositional.
Describe authoritarian submission and aggression.
Explain strict parenting and the proposed development of the personality.
Explain how the F-scale measures authoritarianism.
Evaluate whether an association establishes causation.
Discuss the difficulty of explaining widespread obedience.
Compare the explanation with situational variables.
Consider political bias.
Your evaluation should continually answer this question:
How successfully does the Authoritarian Personality explain obedience?
Hints from the Examiner Reports đź’ˇ
Examiner hint:Â Make an explicit link to obedience. Describing someone as conventional, hostile or respectful of authority is not enough unless you explain why the characteristic makes obedience more likely.
Examiner hint:Â Keep the answer focused on the Authoritarian Personality as an explanation for obedience. Students have lost focus by drifting into lengthy descriptions of prejudice without connecting the material to obedience.
Examiner hint: For a clear outline, use specialist terms such as dispositional explanation, authoritarian submission, authoritarian aggression and F-scale accurately.
Examiner hint:Â A limitation must evaluate the explanation rather than merely criticise a questionnaire. Explain how any measurement problem weakens the conclusion that authoritarianism accounts for obedience.
Examiner hint: Strong limitations include the difficulty of explaining obedience across entire societies and the explanation’s focus on right-wing authoritarianism.
Examiner hint:Â Avoid generic methodology paragraphs. A criticism only gains value when it is clearly linked to whether the Authoritarian Personality successfully explains obedience.
Examiner hint:Â In an extended answer, compare the dispositional explanation directly with situational factors. Do not simply name Milgram or proximity without explaining why changing obedience across situations challenges a personality-only account.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Defining the Authoritarian Personality as simply “someone who obeys”
Why this is incorrect:
This describes the behaviour being explained rather than the personality characteristics proposed to cause it.
How to improve:
Refer to a collection of traits, including submission towards higher-status authorities, conventionalism and aggression towards lower-status people.
Mistake: Describing authoritarian traits without linking them to obedience
Why this is incorrect:
An examination question may ask specifically for an explanation of obedience. A list of traits does not show how they influence behaviour.
How to improve:
Complete each point with an explicit link:
Strong submission towards higher-status people makes the individual more willing to follow an authority’s orders.
Mistake: Confusing authoritarian submission with authoritarian aggression
Why this is incorrect:
Submission is directed towards people of higher status. Aggression is directed towards people perceived to have lower status or those who break accepted rules.
How to improve:
Remember:
Up the hierarchy:Â submission.
Down the hierarchy:Â aggression.
Mistake: Treating the Authoritarian Personality as a situational explanation
Why this is incorrect:
It focuses on enduring characteristics within the individual rather than the immediate environment.
How to improve:
Contrast personality with proximity, location and uniform.
Mistake: Saying that strict parenting always produces an authoritarian adult
Why this is incorrect:
The explanation proposes a possible developmental relationship. It does not establish that every person exposed to strict parenting develops the same personality.
How to improve:
Use cautious wording such as “may contribute to the development of authoritarian traits”.
Mistake: Claiming that a high F-scale score proves someone will obey
Why this is incorrect:
A high score indicates stronger authoritarian attitudes. It does not determine a person’s behaviour in every situation.
How to improve:
State that a high score predicts a greater likelihood of obedience.
Mistake: Assuming correlation proves causation
Why this is incorrect:
A relationship between F-scale scores and obedience does not demonstrate that authoritarian traits directly cause obedience.
How to improve:
Consider third variables and explain that the direction of the relationship may be uncertain.
Mistake: Giving an unrelated criticism of the F-scale
Why this is incorrect:
A methodological criticism does not automatically evaluate the psychological explanation.
How to improve:
Explain how the measurement issue affects conclusions about authoritarianism and obedience.
Mistake: Using prejudice as the main focus of the answer
Why this is incorrect:
Although hostility and scapegoating are associated with authoritarianism, the lesson and examination question concern obedience.
How to improve:
Use these traits only to clarify the personality pattern, then return directly to submission towards authority and obedient behaviour.
Mistake: Ignoring situational explanations during evaluation
Why this is incorrect:
Evidence that obedience changes when proximity or location changes challenges the idea that behaviour is caused entirely by personality.
How to improve:
Use situational factors as a developed alternative explanation.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which one of the following is a dispositional explanation for obedience?
A. Proximity
B. Location
C. The Authoritarian Personality
D. Uniform
[1 mark]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Answer: C. The Authoritarian Personality
Question 2
Define authoritarian submission.
[2 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO1 = 2
2 marks:Â Clear definition referring to submissiveness and obedience towards people perceived as having higher status or authority.
1 mark:Â Limited or partial definition.
Indicative content
Strong respect for authority.
Willingness to obey people perceived as higher in the hierarchy.
Acceptance of authority figures' decisions with little questioning.
Example answer
Authoritarian submission is a tendency to be highly obedient and submissive towards people who are perceived to have greater authority or higher status.
Question 3
Explain one difference between a dispositional explanation and a situational explanation of obedience.
[3 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO1 = 3
Award marks for a clear distinction:
1 mark:Â Dispositional explanations locate the cause of obedience within characteristics of the individual.
1 mark:Â Situational explanations locate the cause in features of the immediate environment.
1 mark:Â Appropriate elaboration/example.
Example answer
A dispositional explanation argues that obedience results from characteristics of the person, such as an Authoritarian Personality. A situational explanation argues that obedience depends on external circumstances, such as the proximity or uniform of the authority figure.
Question 4
Outline the Authoritarian Personality as an explanation for obedience.
[4 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO1 = 4
3–4 marks: Clear and detailed knowledge with appropriate specialist terminology.
1–2 marks: Limited or muddled knowledge.
0 marks:Â No relevant content.
Indicative content
A dispositional explanation of obedience.
May develop through strict or rigid parenting.
Characterised by authoritarian submission, obedience towards higher-status people.
May include authoritarian aggression, hostility towards lower-status people.
Conventional, rigid or dogmatic attitudes.
High scores on the F-scale indicate greater authoritarianism.
Authoritarian individuals are predicted to be more obedient.
This closely follows AQA's 2025 marking guidance.
Example answer
The Authoritarian Personality is a dispositional explanation of obedience. It may develop through strict parenting and involves traits such as authoritarian submission, where people are highly obedient towards those of higher status, and authoritarian aggression towards those of lower status. People scoring highly on the F-scale would therefore be expected to show greater obedience.
Question 5
A company employee believes that senior managers should always be obeyed. The employee rarely questions instructions from directors but expects junior colleagues to follow rules strictly and supports harsh punishments when they refuse.
Explain the employee’s behaviour using the Authoritarian Personality.
[6 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO2 = 6
Award credit for effective application of Authoritarian Personality characteristics.
Indicative content
Believing senior managers should always be obeyed demonstrates authoritarian submission.
Rarely questioning directors shows submissiveness towards higher-status authority.
Expecting junior employees to follow rules strictly reflects conventionalism and respect for established rules.
Supporting harsh punishment for disobedient juniors demonstrates authoritarian aggression.
The employee's behaviour is therefore explained by dispositional characteristics rather than the immediate situation.
Example answer
The employee shows characteristics of an Authoritarian Personality. Their belief that senior managers should always be obeyed demonstrates authoritarian submission because they are highly respectful of people above them in the hierarchy. Their expectation that junior employees should obey rules and their support for harsh punishment show authoritarian aggression towards people of lower status. These dispositional characteristics could explain their high level of obedience.
Question 6
A psychologist gives participants the F-scale and then measures how many instructions they follow during a controlled task.
F-scale category | Mean number of instructions followed |
Low score | 4.2 |
Medium score | 6.1 |
High score | 8.4 |
Describe the relationship shown in the table. Explain why these results would not establish that an authoritarian personality causes obedience.
[4 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO2/AO3 = 4
Award 1 mark each for:
Identifying a positive relationship.
Using the figures appropriately.
Explaining that higher authoritarianism is associated with greater obedience.
Explaining why causation cannot be established.
Indicative content
Mean obedience rises from 4.2Â for low F-scale scorers to 6.1Â for medium scorers and 8.4Â for high scorers.
This suggests a positive association between authoritarianism and obedience.
However, an association does not demonstrate cause and effect.
Other variables may account for the relationship.
Participants were not experimentally allocated to levels of authoritarianism.
Example answer
There is a positive relationship between F-scale score and obedience. Participants with low scores followed a mean of 4.2 instructions, compared with 8.4 for high scorers. However, this only shows an association. Authoritarian personality was not manipulated, so other variables could explain the difference and causation cannot be established.
Question 7
Two psychologists offer different explanations for a participant’s obedience.
Psychologist A argues that the participant obeyed because the authority stood nearby and wore an official uniform.
Psychologist B argues that the participant obeyed because they strongly respect hierarchy and believe senior people should not be questioned.
Distinguish between the two explanations.
[4 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO2 = 4
Award up to 2 marks for each explanation.
Psychologist A
Gives a situational explanation.
Nearby authority and official uniform are external features of the situation that increase obedience.
Psychologist B
Gives a dispositional explanation.
Respect for hierarchy and unwillingness to question senior people are characteristics associated with an Authoritarian Personality.
Example answer
Psychologist A gives a situational explanation because proximity and uniform are features of the immediate environment that may increase obedience. Psychologist B gives a dispositional explanation because respect for hierarchy and unquestioning obedience are characteristics of an Authoritarian Personality within the individual.
Question 8
Outline one limitation of the Authoritarian Personality explanation for obedience.
[2 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO3 = 2
2 marks:Â Clear limitation with some elaboration.
1 mark:Â Limited or undeveloped limitation.
Indicative content
Cannot easily explain widespread obedience across an entire society.
Situational variables may provide a stronger explanation.
Correlational evidence cannot establish that authoritarianism causes obedience.
Political bias because the original concept focuses particularly on right-wing authoritarianism.
AQA's 2025 mark scheme explicitly credits these limitations.
Example answer
One limitation is that the explanation cannot easily account for high levels of obedience across an entire society. It is unlikely that most members of a society would all possess an Authoritarian Personality, so situational factors may provide a better explanation.
Question 9
Evaluate the Authoritarian Personality as an explanation for obedience.
[8 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
Suggested allocation: AO1 = 3, AO3 = 5
7–8 marks: Accurate knowledge with thorough and effective evaluation. Clear, focused answer using appropriate terminology.
5–6 marks: Knowledge is generally accurate and evaluation is mostly effective, although some development may be lacking.
3–4 marks: Some relevant knowledge and evaluation, but points are limited or underdeveloped.
1–2 marks: Very limited knowledge or evaluation.
0 marks:Â No relevant content.
Indicative content
AO1
Dispositional explanation.
Strict parenting may produce authoritarian traits.
Authoritarian submission and aggression.
F-scale measures authoritarian tendencies.
Greater authoritarianism is associated with greater obedience.
AO3
Research has found associations between authoritarian traits and obedience, supporting the explanation.
Correlational evidence does not establish causation.
A third variable, such as education or upbringing, could explain both authoritarianism and obedience.
It struggles to explain obedience across whole societies.
Situational explanations, such as proximity, location and uniform, demonstrate that obedience can change considerably without personality changing.
Original theory has been criticised for political bias, particularly its emphasis on right-wing authoritarianism.
The 2025 examiner report notes that stronger evaluations focused on political bias, difficulties explaining obedience across entire societies, and comparison with situational explanations.
Example answer
The Authoritarian Personality explains obedience as resulting from dispositional characteristics such as authoritarian submission and strong respect for hierarchy. People high in authoritarianism are therefore expected to obey authority more readily.
One strength is that research has found relationships between authoritarian attitudes and obedience, which supports the explanation. However, this evidence is often correlational, so it cannot show that authoritarian personality actually causes obedience. A third variable, such as upbringing or education, could influence both. The explanation also struggles to account for widespread obedience within whole societies because it is unlikely that everyone possesses the same personality type. In addition, Milgram's research showed that changing situational factors such as proximity and location can substantially alter obedience, suggesting that the situation may sometimes be more important than personality.
Question 10
Discuss the Authoritarian Personality as an explanation for obedience. In your answer, distinguish between dispositional and situational explanations.
[16 marks]
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